Federal Trade Commission

• The Federal Trade Commission assists with information about debt relief and tactics to lessen your debt. It also pursues and sues debt-relief companies that make claims they cannot support. According to Herb Weisbaum in an MSNBC article from 2007, the Federal Trade Commission has sued more than a dozen debt-relief companies. Rely on information from the FTC for self-help ideas like contacting your creditors, developing a budget and managing your secured home and auto loans. The FTC suggests that you should enter into a debt management plan only after counseling and warns that debt settlement firms may not be legitimate. The debt management plan allows you to pay a company that distributes your payments. Debt settlement firms, on the other hand, claim to be able to settle your debt for less than full payment and often cannot deliver on the claim. Avoid this kind of nonprofit debt help.
  
  

Housing and Urban Development

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development provides counselors for homeowners facing difficulty paying the mortgage. Foreclosure prevention counseling and homelessness counseling are free services from the federal government. A HUD counselor can charge for prepurchase, reverse mortgage and rental counseling, but HUD counselors must notify you of all fees up front. Free counseling must be provided to individuals who cannot afford the fees.
  
  

Federal Citizen Information Center

• This federal government organization publishes consumer assistance online and on paper, maintaining several websites for consumers. ConsumerAction.gov is a website provided by the Federal Citizen Information Center for learning about credit, banking, housing, insurance, investing and even wills and funerals. Read the materials online or request written materials. The FCIC will mail a publications booklet to your home upon request. Another federal help website is mymoney.gov, with a compilation of links for credit and debt help, including special help for young adults and teens.
  
  

Consumer Credit Counseling Service

• The Consumer Credit Counseling Service is a part of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling that provides help with money management and developing debt repayment plans. Some counseling services negotiate a lower payment with your creditors. Be aware that the creditors may send the negotiation information to your credit report. If you are able to learn from counseling and negotiate your own payments, you may avoid a ding on your credit report. The NFCC provides tips, calculators and a budget worksheet on the website to assist you.